After months of trying to negotiate a deal behind the scenes, Charter Communications is publishing details of its offer to buy Time Warner Cable (which split from Time Warner years ago). Despite a bid that including debt is enough to nab 20 or so Nests, TWC's board responded to the offer by calling it "grossly inadequate." Charter CEO Tom Rutledge is telling anyone who will listen that he can run the company better than its current leadership, and is encouraging shareholders to join him in this viewpoint by making this offer (apparently Charter's third in the last year) public. For customers the upside isn't so clear, as according to J.D. Power Charter is next-to-last in customer satisfaction, staying ahead of only Time Warner Cable -- ouch.

Bloomberg mentions that a reason this deal may happen is because billionaire John Malone is backing Charter, and he believes that by joining the companies he can negotiate better deals with the Hollywood studios that provide their content. Another possibility mentioned by Gigaom, is that control over a larger swath of area and customers could help push bandwidth caps and tiered internet pricing. Others like Comcast have also been rumored to be interested in a deal for at least part of Time Warner Cable, but the Charter/TWC combination would make for the country's third-largest provider behind Comcast and DirecTV.

This afternoon Charter put on a conference call (slides are available here for EBITDA fans to drool over) to explain its side of the argument, and Time Warner replied it "would not let Charter steal this company." The biggest takeaway here is that these same economics affect others in the industry, so there could be more consolidation of cable/internet giants to come.

As if the rumor mill wasn't crowded enough, The Wall Street Journalreports that mobile chipmaker Qualcomm could be joining RIM founders Mike Lazaridis and Doug Fregin in a bid to buy BlackBerry. Speculation of Qualcomm's involvement would be part of a bigger deal between RIM's founders and Cerberus Capital Management LP, that comes just days before the deadline for bids, set for Monday. The ever-informative sources close to the matter point out that even should the group create a partnership, they may not make a bid.

Interest in the company has been attributed to every one from former Apple CEO John Sculley, to tech giants like Google, Intel and Samsung. However, the only real bid known to be on the table thus far is the $4.7 billion offer Fairfax Financial put forth in late September. Qualcomm's massive presence in the mobile space makes for an interesting twist, but we should know more on Monday when BlackBerry's board will consider whatever offers it actually receives.

For anyone who has followed Apple's history, John Sculley is a familiar figure. He was the CEO who famously ousted Steve Jobs from the company he co-founded in 1985; he championed the ill-fated Newton; and he eventually left Apple as its profits turned to losses in 1993.

Yesterday afternoon, The Globe and Mail published a report that has the potential to change that legacy. According to the piece by Steven Chase and Iain Marlow, the man who fired Steve Jobs is considering a bid for BlackBerry.

There were a number of reports last month that RIM/BlackBerry co-founder Mike Lazaridis was at least thinking about putting in a bid of his own for the company, and an SEC filing published today has now shed some more light on the matter. While an actual bid remains anything but a sure thing, the filing does confirm that Lazaridis has agreed to partner with fellow co-founder Douglas Fregin on any potential deal, which could be for "all or a portion of the assets or equity interests" of the company, according to the document. The goal of any bid, as outlined in the filing, would be "stabilizing and ultimately reinventing the company based on a plan developed by them."

The filing also confirms that that the pair have enlisted the help of Goldman Sachs and Centerview Partners as they explore their options, which they say includes "a potential acquisition of all the outstanding shares of the issuer that they do not currently own, either by themselves or with other interested investors." This news follows the only formal bid for the company that's on the table, a proposed $4.7 billion deal from Fairfax Financial, which many have grown skeptical of despite a so-called letter of intent agreement that was signed by BlackBerry.

Since the sun came up today it must mean that Hulu is up for sale, again. The latest extension to the sale rumors for the video streaming site is one from Reuters citing anonymous sources that indicates Peter Chernin, a former News Corp exec and Hulu board member has submitted a $500 million bid. There's no word on how big a stake he'd be interested in taking, but that's significantly lower than the reported $1.9 - $4 billion bids received from Dish and Google when the site was up for sale back in 2011. Of course, any sale price may vary on whether or not the acquisition come content included, but either way, we'd expect a few more possibilites to pop up before something (or nothing, like last time) happens. Of course, Peter Chernin was one of the folks pushing for a shorter theater to home release window and more TV on the Xbox, both of which have come to fruition in one form or another -- maybe he can make a deal happen.

After Kodak's auction to offload 1,100 of its digital imaging patents was green-lit this summer, it looked like Apple and Google were ready to do battle for the goods. Now, however, Bloomberg cites a pair of sources who claim that the two titans have ended their face-off and are combining their efforts in a $500 million-plus bid for the patents. All three parties are staying quiet for now, but the move would certainly not be out of form for technology giants when it comes to lucrative, and potentially volatile, patents. Helping Kodak recover from bankruptcy with more cash in its coffers is nice enough, but avoiding a courtroom feud on digital photos is what sweetens the pot all around.

It seems like almost every day that we receive a press release announcing Verizon or AT&T is planning to expand its LTE coverage to three, five, eleven new markets. But in some remote pockets of the country, you'd be lucky to latch onto even a solid 3G signal. In a bid to make sure those folks in the boonies get their due, the Federal Communications Commission is establishing a fund to encourage carriers to roll out 3G and 4G service in sparser areas. All told, the agency plans to award up to $300 million to mobile operators, with funds going to the providers offering the lowest rates. The winners will be decided in a sealed, single-round auction, which opens June 27th and is set to close July 11th. As a condition for receiving the funds, carriers must agree to cover at least 75 percent of the road miles within a given census tract. While it's unclear at this early stage which mobile players will take the bait, the FCC's already signaled which parts of the country will be first in line for upgraded service -- namely, Rocky Mountain states like Utah and Idaho, along with Maine, Appalachia and upstate New York.

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Thu, 03 May 2012 10:22:00 -040021|20229920http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/14/huawei-blocked-from-first-responder-network-contract-us-cites/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/14/huawei-blocked-from-first-responder-network-contract-us-cites/http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/14/huawei-blocked-from-first-responder-network-contract-us-cites/%3Futm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%23commentsThe inability to win US government approval isn't exactly an unfamiliar issue for Huawei, which by now must be conditioned not to expect a nod from major US telecom companies. But now, The Daily Beast reports that the U.S. Commerce Department has made it very clear that the Chinese company won't have a role in building the country's new dedicated first responder wireless network. A spokesman wasn't shy about the reason, either, explaining that Huawei "will not be taking part in the building of America's interoperable wireless emergency network for first responders due to U.S. government national security concerns." And what about those national security concerns? Well, Huawei president Ren Zhengfei's former role as a People's Liberation Army technologist may have something to do with it, considering it wouldn't be unreasonable to suspect that he still has some fairly close ties to Chinese government officials. We haven't heard a peep from the feds regarding Huawei's invitation for US officials to investigate the company earlier this year, but it's safe to assume that the investigation either didn't go very well, or more likely that it hasn't happened at all. We imagine that whole corporate espionage debacle probably didn't help the company, either.

Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility is already starting to lose that new car smell, but a fresh batch of financial details has now emerged, providing deeper insight into how the deal actually went down. According to an SEC filing that Motorola Mobility released yesterday, Google made an initial offer of $30 per share on August 1st, but soon raised that bid to $37 per share on August 9th, after Moto and its advisers asked for $43.50. On that same day, Google again raised its offer to $40 per share, even though Motorola wasn't accepting bids from other firms, for fear that a public auction would jeopardize its sale. This 33 percent increase ultimately added some $3 billion to the pot, bringing the final price tag to $12.5 billion. A Mountain View spokeswoman declined to comment on the negotiations, though its aggressive bidding suggests that the search giant desperately wanted the deal to go through. The documents also reveal that patent-related issues were at the forefront of discussions from the very beginning, when Google's Senior Vice President Andy Rubin met with Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha to talk about their mutual concerns, way back in July. According to the Wall Street Journal, these talks eventually convinced Jha that his company would be better off under Google's stewardship, amid fears that Moto could get swallowed by the stormy seas of patent litigation -- anxieties that the exec made all too apparent just four days before the merger was announced. You can dig through the full SEC filing at the source link below.

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Wed, 14 Sep 2011 04:45:00 -040021|20042275http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/02/google-bids-pi-for-nortels-wireless-patent-stash-brings-comedy/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/02/google-bids-pi-for-nortels-wireless-patent-stash-brings-comedy/http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/02/google-bids-pi-for-nortels-wireless-patent-stash-brings-comedy/%3Futm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%23commentsEnabling surfers to play Pac-Man instead of actually initiating the search they showed up to complete? Taking a stroll through an episode of Burn Notice? Throwing internet on a magical Indian bus? All relatively normal things from one Google, Inc., but it seems that Larry Page's deadpan demeanor is actually covering up quite the character. During the outfit's recent attempt to outbid the likes of Apple, EMC, Ericsson, Microsoft, RIM and Sony for a sliver of Nortel's coveted wireless patent portfolio, Reuters is reporting that Google's plays were... less than conventional. Reportedly, the company bid $1,902,160,540 and $2,614,972,128, better known by mathematicians as Brun's constant and Meissel-Mertens constant, respectively. Funnier still, Google decided to offer $3.14159 billion (you know, pi) when the bidding reached $3 billion. One of the unnamed sources summed up the bizarreness quite well:

"Google was bidding with numbers that were not even numbers. It became clear that they were bidding with the distance between the earth and the sun. One was the sum of a famous mathematical constant, and then when it got to $3 billion, they bid pi. Either they were supremely confident or they were bored."

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Sat, 02 Jul 2011 20:09:00 -040021|19982090http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/04/google-bids-900-million-for-nortel-patent-portfolio-will-use-i/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/04/google-bids-900-million-for-nortel-patent-portfolio-will-use-i/http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/04/google-bids-900-million-for-nortel-patent-portfolio-will-use-i/%3Futm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%23comments
Google and Nortel have agreed on the princely sum of $900 million to start off a "stalking horse" auction -- wherein outside parties are still free to outdo Google's bid -- for the acquisition of Nortel's rather vast patent portfolio. The sale comes as part of the latter company's bankruptcy selloff and involves some 6,000 patents and patent applications, which encompass both wired and wireless communications, semiconductors, data networking, voice, and the internet -- going so far as to even touch on web search and social networking. The thing is, Google's not really enamored with these tidbits of intellectual property to the tune of nearly a billion dollars. No sir, a rather bitter blog post from the company this morning makes it quite clear that Google's acting in order to bolster its own intellectual property library and to "create a disincentive for others to sue." Both Android and Chrome get obliquely mentioned in Google's announcement as benefiting from the move, which should be completed by June of this year pending other bids and regulatory approvals.

Update: Microsoft has noted that it has "a worldwide, perpetual, royalty-free license to all of Nortel's patents that covers all Microsoft products and services, resulting from the patent cross-license signed with Nortel in 2006." That license will also transfer with the sale of the patent rights. All that means is that Microsoft cannot be sued for infringing on that bundle of rights as it is already licensed to use them. That means Microsoft is extremely unlikely to participate in this auction -- other than, of course, as a means to prevent others from obtaining the same rights.

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Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:50:00 -040021|19902141http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/23/blockbuster-going-up-for-sale-hoping-to-live-up-to-its-name/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/23/blockbuster-going-up-for-sale-hoping-to-live-up-to-its-name/http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/23/blockbuster-going-up-for-sale-hoping-to-live-up-to-its-name/%3Futm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%23comments
Don't think of this as the end of the road for Blockbuster, think of it as a new beginning. After filing for Bankruptcy back in September, big blue and yellow has been working to get its affairs in order -- and trying desperately to fend off both Netflix and Redbox with offerings like Blockbuster on Demand and Blockbuster Express. Things apparently haven't gone entirely to plan. The next stop is For Salesville, with bids for the company starting at $290 million. CEO Jim Keys put a positive spin on the news, saying that this will "allow for the consolidation of ownership of the company to those with a clear and focused vision for Blockbuster's future." It might also finally let that guy take a vacation -- a potentially very long one.

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Wed, 23 Feb 2011 08:36:00 -050021|19855498http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/05/seagate-reportedly-turned-down-takeover-bid-from-western-digital/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/05/seagate-reportedly-turned-down-takeover-bid-from-western-digital/http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/05/seagate-reportedly-turned-down-takeover-bid-from-western-digital/%3Futm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%23commentsFile this one under industry-changing mergers that never were -- Bloomberg is reporting that Seagate rejected a takeover bid from rival Western Digital in October, which would have created a hard drive company to dwarf all others. According to "two people with knowledge of the matter," Western Digital was willing to offer as much as ten to fifty percent more than a competing takeover proposal from TPG Capital, which had already put more than $7.5 billion on the table for Seagate. As you might expect, however, the sheer size of the merger was apparently largely responsible for its refusal. Not only would it have created a huge amount of product overlap and likely led to numerous management departures, but it would have almost certainly faced some pretty significant antitrust obstacles. Of course, neither company is actually commenting on the matter itself and, for the time being at least, it looks like Seagate is content with going it alone.

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Sun, 05 Dec 2010 07:03:00 -050021|19745960http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/23/us-senators-uneasy-over-possible-huawei-equipment-deal-for-sprin/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/23/us-senators-uneasy-over-possible-huawei-equipment-deal-for-sprin/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/23/us-senators-uneasy-over-possible-huawei-equipment-deal-for-sprin/%3Futm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%23commentsChinese telecom giant Huawei already has a pretty big (and growing) presence in North America, having previously signed deals with regional carriers like Leap (better known by its Cricket brand) and MetroPCS -- but apparently, a bid to supply one of the Big Four with equipment is hitting a little too close to home for some legislators. A group of eight US Senators has filed a letter with the Treasury Department expressing concern over Huawei's alleged ties with everything from Saddam Hussein's Iraq to present-day Iran to China's own People's Liberation Army, saying that such a company "should not be able to do business" in the country. Of course, similar concerns ended up dooming Huawei's attempted buyout of 3Com not long ago -- and considering the political climate in US-China relations, this is the kind of lukewarm response Huawei and other major Chinese firms might need to keep dealing with as they try to grow their Western presence.

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Mon, 23 Aug 2010 11:39:00 -040021|19604162http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/05/huawei-bids-high-loses-hard-on-two-major-us-assets/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/05/huawei-bids-high-loses-hard-on-two-major-us-assets/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/05/huawei-bids-high-loses-hard-on-two-major-us-assets/%3Futm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%23commentsHuawei has been kicking for well over two decades, and while a great deal of its business revolves around the enterprise, the company still has a presence in the consumer arena (most recently with its S7 tablet). But for whatever reason, it's having one bear of a time breaking into the US acquisition game. According to a pair of people sourced by Bloomberg, Huawei wasn't selected as the winning bidder of two large US assets in recent months despite having offers of "at least $100 million more in each case." Ouch. As the story goes, the sellers (2Wire and Motorola) "doubted Huawei's ability to win US government approval," possibly because of the founder's prior role as an official of the People Liberation's Army. It's also not the first time that Hauwei has been deterred in the US; the outfit dropped a bid in 2008 for 3Com after America began "investigating whether a deal would give China access to anti-hacking technology used by the Defense Department." 'Course, given the existing legal trouble between Huawei and Motorola right now, we're not sure a +$200 million bid would've sealed the deal on its recently hawked wireless equipment unit. Hit the source link if you're down for a serious read. Mystery, drama, deceit -- it's all there.

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Thu, 05 Aug 2010 04:07:00 -040021|19580542http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/20/japan-proposes-holographic-3d-broadcasts-for-2022-world-cup/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/20/japan-proposes-holographic-3d-broadcasts-for-2022-world-cup/http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/20/japan-proposes-holographic-3d-broadcasts-for-2022-world-cup/%3Futm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%23comments
While we're limited to merely 3DTV depictions of the 2010 World Cup, Japan is letting its freak flag fly in a proposal to host the 2022 matches with a concept envisioning matches captured by 200 HD cameras, then projected as fully 3D images onto real fields in other countries. Just in case technology hasn't advanced that far in the next decade plus, there's also the possibility of positioning mics underneath the playing surface to catch every sound, with all of this powered by solar panels plus the kinetic energy created by a stadium full of fans. Even committee director of technology Jun Murai admits the proposal "smacks of science fiction" but seriously, this is Japan we're talking about -- if the beautiful game is still being played by non-augmented human beings and not a squad of robots we'll be surprised. Either way, someone should put Wolf Blitzer and Will.I.Am on standby just in case.

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Thu, 20 May 2010 07:58:00 -040021|19484500http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/18/microsoft-and-yahoo-restart-talks/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/18/microsoft-and-yahoo-restart-talks/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/18/microsoft-and-yahoo-restart-talks/%3Futm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%23comments
Yes -- they're at it again. Please for the love of all that is sacred, let somebody buy something... quick. From the horse's mouth;

"In light of developments since the withdrawal of the Microsoft proposal to acquire Yahoo! Inc., Microsoft announced that it is continuing to explore and pursue its alternatives to improve and expand its online services and advertising business. Microsoft is considering and has raised with Yahoo! an alternative that would involve a transaction with Yahoo! but not an acquisition of all of Yahoo!"

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Sun, 18 May 2008 18:02:00 -040021|1198937http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/03/google-questions-microsofts-bid-for-yahoo/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/03/google-questions-microsofts-bid-for-yahoo/http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/03/google-questions-microsofts-bid-for-yahoo/%3Futm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%23comments
It shouldn't come as a surprise to readers that the folks over at Google might not be totally stoked on the potential merger of Microsoft and Yahoo!. If you weren't sure where the company stood on the issue, you can now get clued in thanks to a post on the official Google Blog earlier today. David Drummond, senior VP of corporate development (and the company's chief legal officer) says that he worries the acquisition of the internet portal by a company that has "frequently sought to establish proprietary monopolies" could "extend unfair practices from browsers and operating systems to the internet." His concern centers around the possibility that the combination of the two monoliths could "unfairly limit the ability of consumers to freely access competitors' email, IM, and web-based services." Sure, Google has more than a little stake in seeing fair play on the net (gotta keep those ad revenues up), but this is serious food for thought nonetheless.

Update: It looks like the war of words is really starting to heat up. Brad Smith, general counsel for Microsoft, has issued his own little statement here, telling us that Google holds far more marketshare when it comes to internet searching than a combined Microsoft and Yahoo! possibly could, and then going on to explain that the Redmond giant is "committed to openness, innovation, and the protection of privacy." Uh, whatever you say Brad.

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Sun, 03 Feb 2008 19:47:00 -050021|1105395http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/16/garmin-withdraws-3-3-billion-offer-for-tele-atlas-sticks-with/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/16/garmin-withdraws-3-3-billion-offer-for-tele-atlas-sticks-with/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/16/garmin-withdraws-3-3-billion-offer-for-tele-atlas-sticks-with/%3Futm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%23commentsThe title pretty much says it all on this one, folks. We suppose the thought of countering TomTom's recently raised $4.22 billion offer for mapmaker Tele Atlas weighed too heavy on Garmin's soul (or just seemed too expensive), but whatever the case, its $3.3 billion offer has officially been rescinded. Also of note, the AP claims that the outfit has struck a deal with NAVTEQ (or is that Nokia?), which guarantees it access to those maps through 2015. Currently, there's been no word on whether TomTom will move forward with its apparent plans to snap up Tele Atlas, but it's safe to say the biggest obstacle has been (voluntarily) removed.

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Fri, 16 Nov 2007 09:58:00 -050021|1041674http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/02/metropcs-bid-for-leap-wireless-officially-bites-the-dust/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/02/metropcs-bid-for-leap-wireless-officially-bites-the-dust/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/02/metropcs-bid-for-leap-wireless-officially-bites-the-dust/%3Futm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%23commentsIt really doesn't come as a surprise following Leap's less-than-enthusiastic response, but yeah, it's official: MetroPCS' offer is no more. The statement MetroPCS issued regarding the whole ordeal is actually kinda sad, revealing that the company "has not been able to engage Leap in meaningful negotiations" -- in other words, it got the cold shoulder. "Talk to the hand," if you will. For its part, though, Metro insists it's still in great shape, touting its recent Los Angeles launch with several more markets in store for '08 and '09. Still has to smart a little, though.

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Fri, 02 Nov 2007 11:07:00 -040021|1027842http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/31/garmin-waves-3-3-billion-in-the-face-of-tele-atlas/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/31/garmin-waves-3-3-billion-in-the-face-of-tele-atlas/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/31/garmin-waves-3-3-billion-in-the-face-of-tele-atlas/%3Futm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%23commentsMan, it must feel mighty fantastic to be Tele Atlas right about now. Not even a month after TomTom finalized a whopping $2.5 billion offer to take the map maker over, Garmin -- which currently relies on NAVTEQ maps -- has come out swinging with a staggering $3.3 billion bid of its own. As expected, Tele Atlas is now taking a good hard look at both offers and examining its options, and some analysts are even suggesting that a bidding war could take the figure even higher. 'Course, such a conjecture is easy to make when TomTom has already proclaimed that it would reply in some way "in the near future." Bust out the blank checks -- this one could get ugly (or very pretty, if you're a Tele Atlas shareholder).

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Wed, 31 Oct 2007 13:37:00 -040021|1026447http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/22/google-still-likely-to-bid-in-700mhz-spectrum-auction/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/22/google-still-likely-to-bid-in-700mhz-spectrum-auction/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/22/google-still-likely-to-bid-in-700mhz-spectrum-auction/%3Futm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%23commentsWe know, the 700MHz soap opera is wearing a bit on us too, but just in case you were worried that the latest FCCshakeups would deter Google from coughing up $4.6+ billion when the time was right, fret not. Reportedly, Chief Executive Eric Schmidt "told a conference of regulatory and industry leaders in Aspen that his company would 'probably' move ahead with plans to bid for wireless spectrum freed up once broadcast television networks switch to digital from analog in 2009." When asked by T-Mobile USA's government relations chief Thomas Sugrue "whether Google planned to take part in the auctions for wireless broadband networks," the exec simply stated that placing a bid or two would likely be "the way to answer that." So, there you have it -- until next episode...

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Wed, 22 Aug 2007 09:41:00 -040021|971160http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/22/google-still-likely-to-bid-in-700mhz-spectrum-auction/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/22/google-still-likely-to-bid-in-700mhz-spectrum-auction/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/22/google-still-likely-to-bid-in-700mhz-spectrum-auction/%3Futm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%23commentsWe know, the 700MHz soap opera is wearing a bit on us too, but just in case you were worried that the latest FCCshakeups would deter Google from coughing up $4.6+ billion when the time was right, fret not. Reportedly, Chief Executive Eric Schmidt "told a conference of regulatory and industry leaders in Aspen that his company would 'probably' move ahead with plans to bid for wireless spectrum freed up once broadcast television networks switch to digital from analog in 2009." When asked by T-Mobile USA's government relations chief Thomas Sugrue "whether Google planned to take part in the auctions for wireless broadband networks," the exec simply stated that placing a bid or two would likely be "the way to answer that." So, there you have it -- until next episode...

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Wed, 22 Aug 2007 09:41:00 -040021|971159http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/17/vodafone-denies-interest-in-bidding-for-verizon-communications/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/17/vodafone-denies-interest-in-bidding-for-verizon-communications/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/17/vodafone-denies-interest-in-bidding-for-verizon-communications/%3Futm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%23commentsPoor Vodafone, it just can't seem to escape the vicious rumor mill these days. Hot on the heels of a plethora of iPhone talk, now the firm is being forced to deny rumors that it was considering a $160 billion offer for Verizon Communications. Previously, it was suggested that Vodafone was interested in "consolidating ownership of its wireless joint venture," as it currently holds just a 45-percent stake in the wireless division (Verizon Wireless, obviously) of the firm. Notably, Verizon officials declined to comment on the recent activity, but Vodafone spokespersons didn't hesitate to state that "it had no plans to make such an offer." Man, what a killjoy.

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Tue, 17 Jul 2007 11:20:00 -040021|942425http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/09/charitable-iphone-auctioned-off-for-100000/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/09/charitable-iphone-auctioned-off-for-100000/http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/09/charitable-iphone-auctioned-off-for-100000/%3Futm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%23comments
And you thought forking out five grand for the very first Nokia E90 Communicator was impressive. In the name of charity, "Keep A Child Alive" to be precise, an anonymous bidder pledged a whopping $100,000 in order to acquire the "first iPhone sold" (at least the first one at Apple's SoHo location), two Jawbone Bluetooth headsets, and a pair of round-trip airplane tickets and VIP passes to the Black Ball in New York City later this year. Reportedly, the pricey handset will be "personalized with a voice mail greeting and presented by Alicia Keys" to the generous winner on October 25th, but we wonder if the bidder would be willing to shell out a few more Benjamins to eliminate the excruciating wait.